MPH in Environmental and Occupational Health

The MPH in Environmental and Occupational Health program provides an opportunity for students interested in environmental and occupational health to become familiar with the relevant concepts as they apply to public health practice. The program will also be an opportunity for working health professionals to achieve an in-depth environmental perspective as well as a degree in public health. The degree may be tailored towards the desires of individual students, focusing on various aspects of environmental health science, such as risk assessment, occupational hygiene, global environmental health or other emerging topics within environmental and occupational health.

Requirements & Program Information
  • 47 credits of coursework and research
  • Coursework in environmental science and public health foundations
  • Advanced coursework in toxicology, exposure, environmental transport, and risk assessment
  • Off campus practicum experience
  • Advanced essay in an area of focus
Curriculum
Graduate Student Handbook
Admissions

Contact

Nesta Bortey-Sam
Assistant professor
4124 PUBHL
130 De Soto Street
412-624-3572
neb60@pitt.edu

Bryanna Snyder
Student Affairs Liaison
A419B PUBHL
130 De Soto Street
412-383-7297
bms85@pitt.edu
Competencies

Graduates will be able to:

  • Describe the chemical processes involved in the interconversion and elimination of atmospheric pollutants, plus the details of water treatments necessary to remove contaminants from the public water supply
     
  • Choose and explain the reasoning behind selection of specific approaches to reliable sampling of environmental samples for pollutants
     
  • Describe how principles of toxicodynamics and toxicokinetics come together to define human and mammalian toxicity following exposure to environmental chemicals
  • Perform quantitative risk assessments of the hazards posed to human populations using recent modifications to the approaches originally developed by EPA and other regulatory agencies
     
  • Explain the mechanisms by which chemical pollutants are transported throughout the environment and the natural processes by which they are ultimately eliminated (or not)
     
  • Recommend methods for assessing chemical spills on-site for immediate intervention and management of clean-up operations
     
  • *All graduates also achieve the core and cross-cutting competencies for Pitt Public Health MPH students.
MPH Student Practicum

This training program is designed to best fit the interests of EOH students and each year, there are multiple opportunities to complete environmental public health practice and/or interesting research on air monitoring, exposure projects, risk assessment, epidemiology, etc.

Recent practicum placement sites include:

  • Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH).
  • Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD)
  • Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
  • Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project
  • Covestro/Bayer
  • Hillman Cancer Center
  • EHS Support/WSP Environment & Energy
  • Environmental Health & Safety (Pitt)
  • Allegheny County Office of the Public Defender
  • United Steelworkers
  • Environmental Health Services, INC.
  • Pittsburgh Parks Conservatory
  • International practicum opportunities (e.g., Suriname and Thailand)

Careers

Recent graduates accepted the following positions with the following employers:

  • Mining Safety Engineer, CDC NIOSH
  • Senior Risk Assessor/Project Manager, EHS Support
  • Regulatory Affairs Manager, Grupo AC Marca, Granollers, Catalonia, Spain
  • Hub Submission Manager, Pfizer, Shanghai City, China
  • Compliance Manager, August Mack Environmental Incorporated, Indianapolis, IN
  • Project Coordinator, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  • Senior Implementation Project Manager, ConnectiveRx, Pittsburgh
  • Program Administrator, Center for High-Value Health Care, UPMC, Pittsburgh
  • Senior Manager, Global Product Safety, Shanghai City, China
  • Project Manager, Merck, Bridgewater, NJ
  • Supervisory Research Scientist, CDC NIOSH
  • Firefighter, Acting Lieutenant at Pittsburgh International Airport
  • Environmental Associate, Michael Baker Corporation
  • Industrial Hygiene Inspector, OSHA
  • Supervisory Research Scientist, NIOSH
  • Director of Risk Assessment, EHS Support Corporation
  • Coordinator of Operations, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy Program Evaluation Research Unit

Recent Essay Titles

Browse titles in D-Scholarship, the institutional repository for research output at the University of Pittsburgh.

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Inside Cathedral Commons room